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Friday, July 23, 2010

fertilizer for your brain

carol channing, almost 90, was on foxnews this morning. she looks fantastic, and it's obvious that there is a passion burning deep in her soul—she's like an excited schoolgirl who can't wait to tell a secret… she was bubbling with enthusiasm. it made me smile just to watch her.
i'm even too young to really grasp the greatness that was carol channing… she was a wonderful entertainer of her time.
she's spearheading a national campaign to get the arts back into public school. she said kids are bored stiff in school these days… we need the arts… all of the arts back in the public schools. it's like fertilizer for your brain!
i remember poetry in high school. i remember grumbling over it because sometimes it was hard to understand. but i also remember thinking and seeing more of the author's heart in the prose… like a window into a soul. love letters just wouldn't the same without literary devices like similes! i can't imagine the song of solomon having as great an impact without the use of similes and metaphors.

imagine a world without color. without creative expression.
dull… gray… lifeless.
the beauty of teaching the arts in school is the thrill of experimenting in areas that you wouldn't normally find yourself. areas that you may not be brave enough to test on your own.
plaster of paris.
grande jetes
haikus.
broadway showtunes
conte crayons.
iambic pentameter.
chiaroscuro.
aperture.

the list goes on.

it was a delight to see carol in all her eccentricities… she's a woman with passion. a woman with a zeal to bring the kaleidoscope of creativity to school children. it's the perfect age for discovery and experimentation. for stretching brains beyond mario cart, spongebob and IMing.
rock on with your bad-self carol. i hope your movement catches on like a wildfire fueled by the santa ana winds…

6 comments:

  1. Good post. I wish I'd known when I was in school, that art wasn't just for the kids who could draw - but it certainly seemed so. There's so much more, as you stated, e.g. poetry, photography, clothing design, architecture, graphic design, quilting, needlework, music (like orchestra, not just bands whose main purpose was to march at a football game)...

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  2. Yes, great post....I love her heart!!!! You can just see the fun in her eyes!

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  3. I completely agree with you. How can you know what you want to do until you try? And from the bottom of my heart, thank you for incredible compliment you left me this morning. Made my month, gotta say.

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  4. I agree 100%. I still read poetry sometimes and am not sure I "get it," and I have a master's in English. But I think schools do need more of that sort of thing to keep kids interested and at the top of their game.

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  5. I wish I would have seen that. She is has always been like bursting bubbles filled with excitement! I hope it works, I also remember those programs in school and they were great.

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  6. I am following you over from my friend Andrea's blog. (Four Flights) Your comment on her most recent post made me love you...guaranteed I will love your blog. I'm excited to read more! {is that your stalker alarm I hear?...}

    Don't fret. I'm {semi} normal. :)

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love me some comment love… thanks so much for taking the time to share your heart with me!